Better Practice: To make your QR code faster to scan, particularly from a distance, try using a URL shortener before creating your QR codes. The generated code will contain less information and can be read more easily and reliably by a scanner.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, a video must be pure gold. But recording and sending a video capture of your screen for a quick how-to or to demonstrate an issue is a chore. Today I’m going to share a tool I found to make it much easier.

Recycle Bin has this great ability to sort by the date deleted. Like a real trash can, the stuff you threw away last is on top. Today we’re bringing that ability to Outlook – and not just for the trash.

Tonight KOCO ran a story about a perceived very real false alarm by Oklahoma City’s emergency management this morning. Just after 6:15am, the city activated their Whelen outdoor warning siren network, yet for a weak storm that had itself already moved through the area hours earlier.

Hi everyone – I wanted to let you know about a great free event that Microsoft and the MVPs are putting on, May 14th & 15th. Join Microsoft MVPs from the Americas’ region as they share their knowledge and real-world expertise during a free event, the MVP Virtual Conference.

Well it’s barely April and already my hometown has been hit by a tornado. Maybe we’ve gotten it out of the way… But at any rate it’s a reminder that it’s time for my semi-annual collection of weather-related apps I’m using today.

I decided to enhance my workspace by buying a nice large monitor (largest that can fit in my desk) for when I’m working on my Surface on a task at home. This Surface is definitely powerful enough for any work I can throw at it, so why not enjoy a nice large dual-screen setup.

I found some old Plus! pack themes on an old hard drive this week. During some downtime I modified the source of the files to make them compatible with modern versions of Windows and packaged them up for your enjoyment.

A look at what I’ve noticed in Windows 10. These observations are for build 9841, which became generally available on October 1, 2014. Since there is still a year or more before release, most if not all of all observations are not a representation of the final product and are either going to be adjusted or outright replaced in later builds. So while you can get a good idea of how Windows 10 looks and feels today, many of those…

I replaced a hard drive in June, and since then I’ve had problems getting Windows search to return results for settings shortcuts. There were either no results at all, which I finally resolved, or unusably slow (20+ seconds to show a result). Here’s how I finally solved it.

If you forget your computer’s password, it can be difficult to recover from and might require special tools and skills. However, the built-in system administrator account can be a great avenue to reset a forgotten Windows password, especially for home users.

Windows has a number of recovery features to get up and running again quickly after a problem occurs. These simple tools are easy for anyone to use, and are a good first step to try before taking your computer in for professional service.

Computers do not get slow with age, and modern PCs of any brand don’t usually require much maintenance. But there are some steps you can take if your computer’s performance isn’t what it once was. Here’s how to identify the source of slowness and bring your computer back to life.

For the past 23 years, the Start menu has been the staple interface of the Windows operating system. When Windows 8 removed updated the start menu to be full-screen, many users balked at the change. But is any functionality really lost? This post explains how to regain common and not-so-common functions of the legacy Start menu.

If you have a laptop or all-in-one computer, you might have times where you wish to leave the computer on but turn off the display. Although most computers with built-in monitors lack a monitor switch, you can still turn it off in a click. Here’s how.

With the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft made a great number of improvements to Windows 8. Unfortunately, it also marked a step backwards in terms of easily adjusting your network settings. Here’s an update of how to monitor or limit data use in Windows 8.1.

Usage tracking shows that 95% percent of home users typically have 5 or fewer browser tabs/windows open at a time. In an office environment though, this number easily triples. This tip will help you juggle dozens of browser windows more easily, and let you spend less time finding the one you need.

If you use Windows 8 on a typical desktop computer (with a keyboard and mouse), you may not like getting whisked over to a full-screen tablet interface just because you opened an email attachment or picture file. Here’s how to stop that and stay on the desktop.

Bing in fact has a secret power that is kept too secret. Searching for a movie provides an index of which services carry the title, which saves you from individually searching various apps and sites. Big deal? It saves real money too, when the movie is already on a service you subscribe to, you can watch it there instead of buying it outright.

Most of us don’t typically consider our browsing experience. We use the web and take it as it is. But the new reading mode in Windows 8.1 adds one more to a growing list of reasons to come back to the browser you loved to hate.

If you have Windows 8 on your PC, you might want to check for some optional updates waiting for you to install. The optional updates from January’s patch Tuesday include a host of fixes for some frustrating problems. The update needs you to install, so here’s how to get it right now.

Watch a Power User for a while, and you’ll soon notice that they rarely take their hands off the keyboard. Without lifting a wrist to touch a mouse, trackpad, or touch screen, these super users move seamlessly between tasks, switch programs, and navigate complex and large documents.